Fix & Flip post lived in and rented for 2 years

[Ingryd Hernandez]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $144,000
Cash invested: $23,000
Sale price: $225,000

Purchased home 4 bed, 3 bath 2855 sq ft, 5621 lot - originally for $115,000 traditional mortgage in 2009. Refinanced for $144k in 2013. Rented it out for 2 years but recognized we could flip it and leverage not requiring to substantially pay towards capital gains and then sold the property on Sept 2017. We put about $23k after the renters left. One of the highest priced properties comparing to others like it in that neighborhood.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We originally wanted to rent it out for the long term but after realizing since this had been our primary residence, that if we sold it, the profits would not be impacted by capital gains taxes. So we only rented it for two years, allowing for more appreciation time, and then fixed and flipped it.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We analyzed the market as agents since we lived in the property and recognized that selling it as a flip was the right decision for us.

How did you finance this deal?

We actually did not have the cash to put into fixing it since we purchased a home 2 years prior and all our money went into that. We had the original mortgage and pulled a 401k loan out to 'fix' the house up.

How did you add value to the deal?

I believe we added value in several ways - we made sure to not over invest in the finishes for the neighborhood, we put a lot of elbow grease into the house as part of the fix, since I am an agent, I was able to understand what the house would sell for ARV and I did not have to pay commission to myself - only for the buy side. I also had a great connection with a contractor I had built trust with and he was flexible on how we paid him, so he was taking a risk but trusting our relationship.

What was the outcome?

We walked away with $48k in profit

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned how much I was actually emotionally attached to this property. I could have saved about $5k or so on the 'fix' if I was not so attached. Also, since I have a day job, it was difficult to stay at the property until 1am, then need to get up the next morning to go to 'work'. It has helped learning what my passionate actually is.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I do recommend myself since I was also the agent! ;)